Saints and Sinners
by ChildrenOfTheWildOnes
Summary: The last thing her blurred vision allowed her to see was a man, an actually living man, with a crossbow on his right shoulder. Clearly, that girl was dying, and he had to do something, he couldn't just leave a defenseless girl in there. So he made a choice. He took Brynn with him. It surprised him how much time that girl survived in that state, in the woods, all by herself.
1. A Man With A Crossbow

_I can't. I can't do this anymore! _Brynn mentally yelled as she kept running through the woods, almost colliding against every tree. Her feet were terribly hurting, and her leg was in a even worst state with a bullet inside. She ridiculously needed to have a good night of sleep. But she couldn't. The only way of sleeping was with an eye open and the other shut. She couldn't fully rest or she could get caught by the undead. Since the zombie apocalypse started that she didn't know what a good night of sleep meant anymore. She really was craving for a good nap, but doing it while running away from the undead? No way! She had to keep moving or they would catch her and eat her, and the last thing she wanted to do was to get caught, eaten and torn to shreds, only to come back to life and do the exact same thing to the few living human beings that were left on Earth to suffer. Unfortunately, she was one of those people, she was still alive, barely, and she didn't want to die like that. And that is why she had been keeping a last bullet in case she needed to do it. She had never been the kind of girl to put an end to her own life. Hell, at the beginning, she couldn't even kill an undead! But now… if she really had to do it, she would do it. She didn't want to turn into one of those disgusting things.

When she first got shot in her right leg, it didn't hurt her much because of the adrenaline, but now that it was ending, the pain was starting to hit her hard, and her whole system was starting to fail. Her eyes wanted to shut closed temporarily so badly. But she was struggling hard not to pass out, or the next thing she would know was that she had been torn to shreds, or that she was really dead.

She wondered. If she died and came back, would she still see her actions, but have no control of her body? She wondered if the undead who once were people were still inside the bodies, seeing what they were doing, but not able to stop themselves.

That thought was probably rubbish. There was no way in hell the undead could see what they were doing. All they could think of was eating people, eating, eating, eating, oh, and eating brains. So, if she really died, she would have no consciousness, so, she would pretty much thank whoever put a bullet through her skull to end that terror.

She looked back to see how close or how far they were. There were so many spreaded around the woods, and there she was, trying to escape something that she deep down knew she wouldn't get out alive. At least only half anyway. If only she wasn't this injured in her leg, she would've run faster than the wind so that those things couldn't get to her. But with her leg like that? There was no way in hell she would get out alive, and she knew it.

She tried to walk a little faster, trying not to hurt herself even more. She was a total mess. And all because she'd been shot. She could feel her whole body trembling with chills. She touched her forehead and it was burning like fire. She had fever. Good thing it was just a regular fever…

She wiped the sweat out of her forehead and once more she looked around to calculate her chances. A few feet away from her were three undead, and all of them growling, almost drooling with the only instinct crossing their little mind vibes. Eating Brynn.

Behind her, there were more six or seven undead things, but she didn't know for sure because she couldn't see shit anymore. On her left, two were walking to her in an alarming speed. On her right, five were slowly walking, dead and numb as a walking dead could be. She took a deep breath and prayed for some good luck, starting to run, trying not to go too near an undead.

Needless to say that it didn't work so well.

Hurt as she was, they were probably faster than she was.

She wasn't seeing straight anymore, and that didn't help her escaping in any way. Only made it worst.

The last thing her blurred vision allowed her to see was a man, an actually living man, with a crossbow on his right shoulder, who started to shoot the nearest undead things almost reaching for Brynn. Unable to hold on her feet, she fell on the ground, careless.

He approached her in a second, checking for bites or scratches, which he didn't find any, and noticed her trembling skin. Then he touched her forehead and he could feel how burning hot she was in that moment. Clearly, that girl was dying, and he had to do something, he couldn't just leave a defenseless girl in there, all alone, waiting to be walker's food.

So he made a choice.

He grabbed her carefully not to hurt her, because he noticed the ugly wound on her leg, and started to carry her carefully, walking away from those undead things. It surprised him how much time that girl survived in that state, in the woods, all by herself.

She shot her eyes open, looking at the man who was carrying her to God knows where. "Who are you?" She whispered into his ear, as her head was lying on his shoulder. "What are you doing? Where are you takin' me? What the hell were you… what were you doin' in there? Why did you save me? What are you going to do to me? CAN YOU PUT ME DOWN!? I think I can… ugh, I think I can… walk." She mumbled without stopping.

Somehow, he totally ignored her, continuing his way.

"Who are you?" She asked again. But again, she got no reply. "Please, tell me where you're takin' me! I need to know."

He just kept walking towards somewhere she didn't know. He looked at her and he saw that she couldn't rest until he told her. "I'm takin' ya somewhere safe. Now shut the hell up and just let me take ya. Yer too weak to walk."

She nodded, closing her eyes and laying her head on his shoulder once more, falling into a very deep sleep.

**A/N: Okay so… how bad was it? Do you want to hit me? I wanna hit me. I only know I really wanted to write this, but didn't know how, so I wrote this First Chapter thousands of times in many different ways but it ended up being always crappy! Anyway, we don't know much about Brynn YET, we only know that she'd been shot in her right leg and that a man with a crossbow rescued her. Okay… I would love to know what you think about this, so, REVIEW, and we'll see each other next time, which I don't know when will that be, 'cause now that school started, I have a lot of shit to do, whatever… have a fucking nice day, or night! Love you all!**


	2. Where Am I?

"Hey, young lady…" A voice whispered. It was a man's voice. It seemed too far away, too remote, but it wasn't, he was right there, next to Brynn. She fought to open her eyes, and when she did, blurred images were all she could see at first. That and the man who saved her life leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. _A wall…?_ She thought. _No, it's a room. I'm in a bloody room!_ Her blurred vision started to fade and she started to see things more clearly. "Young lady, you're seriously injured." She heard that voice again. She took her eyes off the man who saved her life, and noticed three other men standing in that room. At first that vision was a blast, and she felt like she could scream or run, but she wouldn't do that. _No, don't be stupid, he brought you here to help you. Don't go all crazy on them! _She told herself, analyzing every single one of them. One of them apparently is a cop, or at least he was. The other she didn't know, but his eyes scared her. He seemed dangerous. More deadly than the others. She could already tell this just by looking at his eyes.

Moving on to the other, the man who saved her. She analyzed him too. The way he was standing in there, looking at the floor. He was waiting for the other man to determinate her state or if he could do something about it. She could see… worry (?) in his eyes, and she could see something a little worse than that. Loneliness. He seemed to have pretty strong arms, and he was kinda handsome, Brynn had to admit it. She almost felt glad for him carrying her to that place.

After admiring the man with the crossbow, she analyzed the man next to her. She also noticed that she was lying on a bed, _Yes, a real bed!_ She thought with some glee. Anyway, the man was quite old already, but he had a calm expression as he looked at her, and he kinda reminded her of his grandfather at first sight. "I'm gonna have ta give ya a sedative, because I need ta get this bullet out of yer leg, alright?" He placed his hand on hers just to transmit some comfort to her. She nodded with wide eyes, looking at her leg, soaked in blood. _God, so much blood…_ she thought, starting to close her eyes after he gave her the sedative.

Last thing she saw before her eyes shut closed was the man asking for the others to leave. After that, it all went black as she fell into another deep sleep.

* * *

(A day later)

Brynn woke up in the same bed, but this time, her right leg had bandages and a ligature wrapped around the spot where the bullet was. She moved her leg but it was still hurting too much. At least she wasn't having that fever anymore and she wasn't feeling those terrible chills that she felt. She just laid her head back in the pillow and looked up at the ceiling, enjoying the fact that she was in a house that actually wasn't crowded with undead.

The next thought that invaded her mind was the fact that other human beings were there. Last time she saw other humans they were chasing after her, trying to catch and kill her, which they almost did, shooting her in her right leg. If she hadn't been found by that man with the crossbow, at this time, she would be dead.

She sighed when she started thinking about her family. Were they still alive? Did they survive to that fire in the warehouse? She didn't know, but it killed her thinking about it every time. She shifted her position to make herself comfortable and closed her eyes.

She was about to fall into another deep sleep when someone knocked on the door. She opened her eyes and rolled them. She needed to have some more rest!

The door opened slowly, only to show a young woman, probably in her early twenties. She had brown hair, green eyes, and was holding a plate with a sandwich and a glass of juice. At least it appeared to be juice. Orange juice. The young woman smiled at Brynn and entered the room, placing the plate and the glass of juice over the nightstand. She seemed to want to ask something, but it was stuck. Brynn sat on the bed with some difficulty and smiled to the woman.

"Can I ask you something?" The woman asked, stopping herself from leaving the room without knowing Brynn's answer.

"Yes." Brynn nodded.

The woman looked at her leg, and then into her eyes, trying to figure out how to ask her nicely. "How did you get shot?"

Brynn smiled and tried to reach the plate with the sandwich, but the woman quickly went over her and handed it. "Thank you." Brynn said with a smile. She placed the plate over her lap. "Well… a man shot me… I was running away from a group of survivors, and they went after me. One of them shot me…"

"Why?" She just asked, standing right next to the bed, next to Brynn, watching her biting the sandwich with some joy.

"Well, hum, they attacked my warehouse." Brynn explained, stopping to swallow a piece of the bread. "Burned it." She continued, but this time she wasn't eating. She was just… looking. Empty. "My family and my friends died in there. I think it's just me now…"

The woman tensed up when she heard those words. She felt sorry for Brynn, even though she didn't know her at all. "I'm sorry." She said, rising up quickly. "What's your name?"

"Brynn." Brynn replied, forcing a smile. "Brynn Collins."

"I'm Maggie." The woman smiled forcedly. "Maggie Greene."

"Well, Maggie, thank you for havin' me here." Brynn said, finishing her sandwich and taking a sip of the juice.

"Sure." Maggie smiled. "Look, I think you should tell Rick about the other group… if they're still around, they could do the same thing to us."

"Yeah." Brynn nodded, rubbing her eyes. "I will. You can tell him that he can come and talk to me."

Maggie nodded. "Alright."

"Wait!" Brynn stopped Maggie from leaving. She still wanted to ask her something. "Who took the bullet out of my leg?"

"It was my father, Hershel." Maggie replied, holding the door handle.

"Well, tell him that I said thanks." Brynn smiled weakly.

"You can tell him yourself." Maggie said, stepping out of the room and closing the door.

Brynn sighed, feeling much better now that she had some food on her stomach. She laid back on the bed, and closed her eyes for a few minutes. Those minutes felt like sacred seconds, until someone knocked on the door. _Must be Rick…_ Brynn thought, opening her eyes in wonder.

"Do you think we can have a talk?" A man asked after entering the room and shutting the door behind him. Brynn rolled on the bed, staring back at him. He was that man, the one who used to be a cop. Except that this time he was wearing normal clothes. He had brown hair and blue tired eyes. Brynn nodded calmly, and he sat on the bed, staring at her. "I'm Rick."

"Brynn." She replied.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked, looking at Brynn's leg.

"A lot better, thanks to ya people." Brynn answered with a smile, looking down at her hurt leg. "I can't even express how grateful I am."

"You don't have to." Rick said. Brynn smiled at him and looked down again. She could feel his eyes on her, analyzing her face and her traces. She felt a little embarrassed but said nothing about it. Somehow, she didn't really like to look at one person in the eyes, or they to do the same to her. It felt somehow weird, and she liked to avoid it.

"Seriously though," Brynn replied. "I could've died out there if that man hadn't found me…" Brynn trailed off, thinking about the man with the crossbow. "I would like to thank him."

"You can do that when you feel better." Rick said, giving her a serious look. "Now… Maggie told me about how you got shot."

"That…" Brynn remembered, looking down at her leg. "I guess she explained you that a group of men attacked the warehouse where I was livin' in and burned it. I think I was the only survivor… I couldn't stay there to find out if my family was still alive 'cause the fire dragged a lot of those freaks and I was forced to leave."

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Rick said with honesty in his glare, placing his hand over hers.

Brynn nodded and paused, breathing deep. "Those men noticed me. They saw me leaving the warehouse before they burned it, so they came after me. I ran, and I ran, and I ran. But they were faster. They had a jeep. One of them shot me and I fell over some bushes. I think that's how I escaped. They would've killed me if they did find me." She said, looking at the window that was showing a very bright sun. Rick nodded and allowed her to stop talking for a while. He noticed that those memories were a little hard to bring up again, and she needed time to spit it all out. "After they left, more freaks started to show. I was forced to leave, again, and this time I had to run faster." She said. "I don't know for how many hours I ran in that state, but I ended up near these woods. Where am I, anyway?"

"You're safe." Rick stated. "That's all that matters."

Brynn nodded, closing her eyes and biting her bottom lip. "Look, after I get better, I don't really know where to go, but if you want me to leave…" Brynn retorted after a while of silence. She knew they were uncomfortable with her in there, and that they didn't trust her much. "I understand if you people don't want me here."

"Let's not get to that yet." Rick replied, looking at the floor after a while of thinking and then looking back at her. "I understand yer situation and that ya don't have anywhere else ta go. If you'd like, you can stay with us. But if you choose to leave, I, we respect that."

"Thank you." Brynn nodded with a smile.

Rick rose up and went over to the door, ready to leave, when he stopped. "How old are you, Brynn?"

"I'm 20."

**A/N: God, I don't even know what to say about this chapter. How about you people tell me what you think of this? Because I would love some opinions. Should I keep writing or should I just drop it? It's up to you all to decide. Anyway… what do we know about Brynn already? She's 20, and her family was livin' in a warehouse, until a group of men showed up and burned it. What do you all think of her story? I think I might do a Flashback episode just so I can explain a little better, but it will only happen a little later after she gets to know Rick's group. Review, please! We'll see each other next time, hopefully. **

**P.S. - Sorry for any writing mistake! Don't hit me.**


	3. Family

3 Days quickly went by. Brynn was getting better, though at first she still felt some strong pain in her right leg. Hershel had given some kickass painkillers to her, so she barely felt any pain at this time. The time to leave that incredible place was coming, and she had to prepare herself to go. She only had a small backpack where she kept a knife that Jack, her father, had given to her when they first arrived to the warehouse. She also had an old family album, that she wanted to keep forever, or at least until she died. Besides that, she had two pairs of jeans, underwear and two shirts. That old backpack was the one she had when the world went to shit. Those changes of clothes were the firsts she grabbed from her wardrobe before she left her home forever. Ironic, isn't it? The first thing she grabbed from her house was the last thing she grabbed from the warehouse before it burned.

She got out of the bed where she'd been lying for 4 or 5 days, and walked over to the window to peek to the outside. The sun was shining brightly and it almost blinded her eyes at first, but once she got used to it, it didn't bother her anymore. _Yep, it's definitely a farm. _Brynn thought with a smile, noticing how beautiful and simple it was. Outside, she saw women hanging clothes, dividing chores and men walking and talking. She was observing them, until something caught her attention.

It was the man with the crossbow. The one man who saved her from dying in the woods alone.

He glanced at her but quickly turned away, entering the house.

She walked away from the window and went to the bathroom, washing her face and looking at the mirror. Her face was the face of a woman who'd been through hell and survived it. It wasn't dirty anymore, but her eyes, her glance, they told how hard it had been since the world ended. Someday, those freaks would just get to her and eat her, and she knew it. No place was completely safe anymore. If it wasn't for the dead, it was for the living. She had seen so many places being destroyed and people being killed by the undead, but to her, the living humans were the real monsters. The survivors. They all went crazy and cold-blooded, and just thought about killing and raping and enjoying every last minute like it was their last. Brynn didn't do things that way. To her, there was no life to enjoy anymore. To her, surviving was almost like an instinct.

She was kind of numb right now. Or were the painkillers doing their job again? She sighed and went back to the room. She sat on the bed, looking at the emptiness. She was in a trance that didn't last long, because someone knocked on the door, causing her to snap out of it.

She looked up, to see the person who was coming in to talk to her. It was Rick.

"Hey." She greeted with a forced smile.

"Hey." Rick replied with a nod. "How are ya feelin'?"

"So much better." Brynn breathed. "Thank you for everything."

"Ya don't have ta thank me." Rick retorted with a smile. "Now… I think it's time for us ta have that talk."

"Yeah." Brynn agreed, getting up.

She walked over to Rick, who guided her out of that room to meet the rest of the house. Once he gave her a little tour, he took her to the outside so that the others could see the unknown girl a little better. She noticed a lot of glances from the women and from the men, but she ignored them, focusing on Rick.

"Okay, so… I am really grateful for everything you did for me, specially Hershel and the other man who brought me here, but…" Brynn started, trailing off as she saw how vast that land was. "I think it's time for me to leave, ya know? I don't know for sure if my family is still alive, but if they are, I need to find them. I need to stay with them. Besides, I don't think your people would like to have a new unknown girl in the group. Another mouth to feed." She spoke.

"I understand your point, but you're one girl." Rick stated the obvious. "I'm sorry, but I don't think leaving is a wise choice. All alone, you won't survive long."

"Maybe so…" Brynn agreed with a nod. "But still… I need to know if my family is still alive. That fire might've not killed them. They could've got out of it. It's really hard not to know if they're out there looking for me or if they're…"

"Dead." Rick finished. "I know." He looked her in the eyes, but she quickly turned away because she didn't like the eye contact. "I know. I've been through that with my wife and my son when this all started."

"So you know how desperate I am to find them." Brynn stated. "Especially when the men who attacked my people in the warehouse killed all the men and left women for last, to… well, to rape them."

"About that group…" Rick started. "How far were they from this land?" He asked with some worry in his voice. "I need to know. I need to protect my group."

"I know you do." Brynn said. "They were far. I was far from here. Like I said before, I came running… I ran a lot to reach these woods." She looked around and she saw the man with the crossbow leaving the house, heading to his tent. "So… last time I saw those men, they were kind of far from here."

"Should I worry?" Rick asked, while his eyes searched through the place, looking for someone.

"I don't know." Brynn replied honestly. "You should… get ready. Or at least prepare the group for what could come. I'm not saying they're heading here, but you should at least prepare yourself for the worst. Those men… I saw them killing all the men in my camp. They kept women for last, I know it. When I came out of my hiding place with my brother and my father, I saw those men putting them inside the jeeps. I don't know what they did to them after that, but I don't believe it was good at all."

"Alright." Rick nodded, wiping the sweat out of his forehead. "Thank you, Brynn. I think you should know that you're more than welcome to stay with us."

"Thank you, Rick." Brynn smiled. "But I need to look for my family. I need to know if they're still alive."

"I hope you find them." Rick said with honesty in his glance.

"So do I." Brynn said.

"So, when are you thinking about leaving?" Rick asked, turning to look her straight in the eyes.

"Maybe tomorrow morning." Brynn answered, starting to lose herself in her thoughts. "I figured that, the sooner the better…"

* * *

And like Brynn said, next morning, she would be off that land. If her family had escaped the fire or if they were still alive, Brynn had to go and look for them, try to find them. Maybe she would go back to her burned warehouse and see if… their burned bodies were there. That thought horrified her, but she needed to know the truth.

So, she got up, took a cold shower, got dressed and prepared herself for what she would find out there.

She exited the room and went straight to the outside, where she found Rick, the man with the crossbow, better known as Daryl, the man who saved her and that other man, the deadly man, the one with danger in his eyes. She walked over to them with some reluctance.

"Morning." Brynn greeted shyly, as she went over to those three men, who seemed kind of busy, looking at a map and discussing about it.

Rick turned back to look at her. "Morning, Brynn." He nodded. "You're leaving." He stated, looking at her backpack.

"Yep." Brynn answered. "I am."

"Alright." Rick nodded. He entered the house to go get something and the other man, the one with 'the danger in his eyes', followed him inside. She was left with the man who saved her, and for a few moments, an awkward silence remained between them.

That is, until she broke it.

"So, I'm leaving." Brynn finally stated, trying to see his expression which seemed to remain careless. "And I… wanted to say 'thank you' before going." She walked closer to him. "Thank you for bringing me here. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for not… ignoring me. I would be dead if it wasn't for you. Just… thank you, so much."

"No need ta thank me." Daryl replied, looking at Brynn, analyzing her face and every single detail. "I saw ya in there, almost dyin', and I jus' couldn't leave ya in there." He simply said, turning to at the map to avoid her staring at him. "I hope it was worth it."

"What d'ya mean?" Brynn asked.

"I wasted arrows on you." Daryl said. "Just… don't die out there."

"If it's about saving someone, it ain't a waste." Brynn simply said.

"Truth." Daryl stated.

"But yeah, I'll try not to die." Brynn continued.

"Alright." Daryl nodded. "Why are ya leavin'?"

Brynn felt surprised. Rick didn't tell the others her reasons to leave the farm. She felt somehow happy about that. And she didn't even know why exactly.

"Got family out there." Brynn started. "Somewhere." Daryl frowned at that. _Somewhere? She doesn't know where they are?_ He asked himself. "Gotta look fer them. And see if they're still alive."

"One girl, all alone." Daryl murmured. "Sure about that? Ya gonna get yerself killed."

"Doesn't matter." Brynn breathed, turning her back, starting to walk towards the house to say good-bye to Hershel, the old man who took care of her wound. As far as she knew, that land was his, so she really wanted to thank him for allowing her to stay in there during that small time.

"Matters ta me." Daryl said, causing Brynn to stop in her tracks, frozen by his words. She didn't know him much, but he didn't seem the kind of guy to show to someone else that he cared about them, especially when that person was a total stranger to him. "I saved ya. Try not to throw that away."

"I won't." Brynn smiled and nodded to him.

"Name's Daryl Dixon, by the way." He said, for last.

"Brynn Collins." She replied, before opening the front door to step inside.

She entered the house and went straight to the kitchen, where she found Rick and Hershel. They were talking about searching the woods to look for someone when she entered, so they stopped and looked at her.

"I… uh, I wanted to say good-bye to Hershel before I went off." Brynn explained. "I wanted to say 'thank you' for allowing me to stay here these days, and for takin' care of me. Many people wouldn't do such thing, so thank you."

He got up from the chair and went over to her with a sincere smile on his face. "You don't have ta thank me, Brynn." He replied. "I really do hope you find your family."

She nodded and smiled, giving him a hug. He felt surprised at first, but accepted her in his arms. When she first saw Hershel, he reminded Brynn of her grandfather. And he still did, even though she didn't know much about this man.

The hug ended and he nodded with a smile, smacking her back friendly.

Hershel left the kitchen after that, leaving Brynn behind with Rick.

"I wanted to give you this before you left." Rick said, taking a gun out of his pocket. "It has 8 loads. It's not much, but might be a start."

"Thank you." Brynn accepted the gun and looked at it. "I have my knife, but this could help. Thank you, Rick."

"I mean it." Rick said.

"What?"

"You have a place here in case you decide to stay." Rick said. "We don't do this much often, but you're alone. You're just a girl. If you choose to stay…"

"I know." Brynn said with a smile. "Thank you so much for everything you all done for me."

Rick nodded. He didn't like to let her go just like that. Yeah, he didn't know Brynn much. He only knew that a group of men burned her warehouse, killed the man and took the women, chased Brynn and almost killed her. But somehow, he felt responsible for her. Like, if he let her go alone into the woods, it could be the last time he would see her. She was so young to be on her own.

"Good luck with your family." Rick said, for last.

"Thank you." Brynn nodded, taking a deep breath.

After this, she exited the house and started walking towards the woods. She looked back one last time to that amazing and beautiful place and she saw Daryl, standing next to his tent, watching her go.

**A/N: Okay… what do you guys think of this Chapter? Kind of boring, huh? I know… I didn't know how to do this. I know, I know… Brynn was leaving the farm. But don't worry, she'll come back! If you enjoyed this, you're crazy, but if you did, REVIEW! By the way, sorry for any writing mistake! Love you all, we'll see each other next time. Kiss! **


	4. That Was Close!

There was nothing left. Brynn went back to her burned warehouse, and what she found there were the few remaining walls and the corpses of the men of her old group, all burned. She also found some undead, wandering in there, numb and dull. She took them down with her knife because she wouldn't use the gun that Rick had given to her unless she really needed to do it. But she didn't find her family. Dead or alive. And she didn't know how to feel about it. Of course they wouldn't be in there if they were alive, they would've gone somewhere else, maybe to look for her. And she actually felt happy for knowing that they didn't die in there, in the fire, but there was something that was bothering her. What if the men of the other group took her mother and her sister to rape them? Also, what if they killed her father and her brother? Those thoughts were killing her, and she was getting really scared and nervous.

She didn't know if she should go back to the farm and stick with Rick's group or start searching for her family. She wasn't selfish, and she really wanted to find them and to hug them again, but she wasn't stupid, she knew that if she went off alone and too far, she would end up dead. And she really didn't want to die.

She took another look inside the burned walls and remembered the few time she spent in there. The long nights she spent talking with her older brother, Charlie, the days she spent with her troubled little sister, Ashley, who loved to cause trouble every once in a while. Her stubborn mother, Gwen, who still thought she couldn't handle the end of the world. Her father, Jack, who always trusted her. Her friend Lily, the girl she met few time after the world went to hell. Her parents had been killed and Lily was wandering off in the woods all alone, dirty and hungry. Brynn's group found her almost dying of hunger and took her in the group, almost like Rick's group did to Brynn.

Brynn stayed in that place for few time, but created so many memories with the people in there. And now, most of the people with who she shared memories were dead or probably about to be.

And once again, she had to move on.

She had to do it, and fight to live another day.

So, for once, she thought about what to do about herself. Would she go back to the farm? Or would she go look for her family?

_I will go back._ Brynn decided, sighing. It wasn't an easy decision, but for now, it was the best she could do for herself.

She started to walk away, looking back one more time.

It was the last time she would be in there.

Then, she would… leave it. Like when she left her home for the last time.

* * *

(Hours later)

The forest seemed to never end. Brynn had been walking for hours and she still hasn't found the Farm. All the trees looked the same, and she didn't remember much about the way to the Farm when Daryl took her there. She had been passed out while that. But she had the feeling that she was close.

When it all started, wandering off in the woods scared the shit out of her, and even a little noise in the bushes made her heart start beating faster. Now? Well, now, she got REALLY used to it and it doesn't scare her anymore. The world made of her a brave woman, even though she's not brave enough, yet, to leave all by herself for a long trip to look for her family. It's just that, the little things that scared that girl before don't scare her anymore. She grew up a little. Death doesn't scare her anymore. Not her death, that doesn't scare her. What scares her most is the death of her family, and she'll have that fear in mind as long as she doesn't find them. The fear of losing them.

"Yeah, ya better run!" Brynn heard a familiar voice yelling, that pulled her out of her thoughts.

She began to hurry her steps, and the voice that she heard seconds ago led her to a man. The one man who found and saved her. Daryl.

He didn't seem fine at all. He seemed like he'd been through hell and back. She noticed the necklace of ears and his mouth dirtied with blood. He looked at her, surprised, maybe wondering what she was doing in there. Daryl also felt a little happy to know that she didn't leave and that she was there.

"What the hell happened to you?" Brynn asked, running towards him and putting an arm around him, since he was almost losing his balance.

"Been lookin' fer Sophia." He breathed. Then he remembered that Brynn didn't even know who Sophia was. "A li'l girl who went missing from the group."

Brynn nodded, holding him up with some difficulty, since he was heavier than her. She helped him walking over to a tree, to lean against it. He took a deep breath and then looked at her. There was something in her eyes. Some sadness and worry. He figured that she didn't find her family. "Didn't find them, did ya?"

"No." Brynn replied, looking down.

"Ya comin' back to the farm, ain't ya?" Daryl asked, taking a deep breath. That climb took a lot of his energy, not to mention the two walkers he had to put down.

"Yeah." Brynn answered, after a few seconds of thought. "Come on." She tried to help him getting up again, but he pushed her away. He didn't like to be helped, _that_ she could already see. "Don't be a stubborn ass. I'm trying to help you." She stated, trying again.

This time, he allowed her to help him.

* * *

(An Hour Later)

"Come on," Brynn said, holding him tighter as she felt him slipping through her arms. He was getting really pale. He almost seemed like he was… dead. Or about to be. "We're almost there." She stated, starting to see Hershel's house in the distance. She saw the RV and someone on it. She also saw Rick with a gun in his hands and three other men running towards them. One of them was that man that scared her. He had a pick on his hands. She didn't know why, but something in him was telling her to stay away from him the best she could. The other was a black man running with a bat in his hands. The last one was a Korean boy with a hat, also known as Glenn.

They reached Brynn, Daryl and looked over to her and to him. Rick pointed his gun to both of them, but quickly put it down as he noticed it was Brynn. His gaze met Daryl's and Rick frowned. _Yeah, he looks like a walking dead person._ Brynn thought while the looks of the other men analyzed both of them.

"Brynn." Rick breathed, looking at her with joy. Then he looked at the man, confused.

"Is that Daryl?" Glenn, the Korean boy asked, confused as well.

"It's the third time you're pointing that thing to my head." Daryl snapped at Rick, with his sharp and rough voice. "You goin' to pull the trigger or what?"

Seconds of silence went by, and a gunshot filled it. Next thing Brynn knew, Daryl was on the ground, unconscious or probably dead.

"No!" Rick yelled, running towards them. "No! No!"

Brynn bent down next to Daryl, trying to check if he was really dead or not. She didn't know why, but she really didn't want him to die. "No!" She screamed as well, feeling scared. The thought of him dying was scaring her.

The others bent down as well, but Brynn was the one to notice that he was still moving. "Wait." She warned. "He's not dead." She stated. "He's not dead!" She noticed the wound in his head, but saw that he was still moving, still breathing. She felt some relief, knowing that.

"I was kidding, man." Daryl breathed, opening his eyes.

Brynn smiled and kissed his forehead slightly, not even knowing why she did that.

"Come on." Rick said, helping him getting up, along with the other man, known as Shane. Brynn backed off, taking a deep breath. _That was close._ She thought, closing her eyes and wiping the sweat out of her forehead. _Thank God it was just close._ She rose up and followed them, along with the Korean boy and the black man.

"Oh my God!" A woman came running and screaming, with a man behind her. "Oh my God! Is he dead?"

"Unconscious." Rick told the young and blond woman. "It just grazed."

"But look at him!" Glenn said, pointing at the necklace of ears. "What the hell happened to him? He's wearing ears!"

"I don't know." Brynn intervened. "I found him like this."

"Let's keep that to ourselves." Rick told the others.

"Guys." The black man, also known as T-Dog, spoke, holding a doll. "Isn't this Sophia's?"

They all stopped, including Brynn, and just looked at it. For minutes, no one spoke. They just took Daryl inside the house for Hershel to take care of him. Brynn stayed outside with the others, and they all looked at her, with curious gazes and stares.

"You found him?" The Korean boy was the one to ask her.

"Yes." She replied, turning to look at him.

"What happened to him?" The blond woman intervened.

"I don't know." Brynn answered, thoughtfully. "When I found him, he was already wearing the ears."

Minutes of silence went by, until the blond woman spoke again. "I shot him." She stated. Brynn looked at her with wide eyes.

"You could've killed him." Brynn said, calmly, trying not to snap at the blond woman. She saw regret in her eyes, but that didn't help at all. "He could've died because of you!"

"I know." The blond woman spoke, with her voice shaking. "I know! I am so sorry!"

Brynn was about to answer that, but Rick came out, so she ran to him to know more about Daryl.

"Is he okay?" She quickly asked. "How is he?"

"He's going to be fine." Rick answered her. "Hershel's takin' care of him."

"Thank God." Brynn breathed with relief. "What about the girl? Sophia. It was her doll, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Rick said, placing his hands over his hips, looking straight in her eyes. "Did you find them? I'm guessing not. You wouldn't be here if you did." He said, changing the subject into something else. Brynn frowned at that, completely forgetting about her family.

"No." She said, looking down. "I didn't find them. I went back. All I saw were the burned walls and the burned bodies of the men of my old group. But nothing of my family. Means they're still alive, somewhere. They gotta be." She stated with sadness in her eyes. "They have each others, but I'm all alone."

"Not anymore." Rick said. "You're with us, now."

**A/N: So... what did you guys think of this Chapter? Brynn is back, YEY! And she's staying with the group. I don't have much to say about this one, just... REVIEW, okay? I would love to hear your opinions, it would be much appreciated. See you all next time. I gotta study for a test! Wish me luck. Love you all, bye! By the way, if you noticed some writing mistake, I'm sorry, I'm a little clumsy and I might've forgotten about it. Anyway, see ya!**


	5. Secrets: Gun Practice

Brynn spent the night in a tent that Rick had spared to her just in case she would come back. It wasn't very comfortable, but it was the best she could've got in there, and she was already grateful by it. Her leg was healing quite well and she didn't even feel pain anymore, though that mark on her leg wasn't very pretty. But,_ Oh, well… nothing and nobody's perfect._ She thought, hiding the wound. She didn't get much sleep either. She spent the most of the night thinking about her family and what could've happened to them. She just couldn't stop thinking about it. The thought that _maybe_ they were already dead just scared the shit out of her, though it was quite probable that they were by this time.

But she pushed the probabilities away from her mind because a new day was starting in the Farm, and just as the others started to come out of their tents and started doing their chores, Brynn came out too, ready to know more about the place that was surrounding her. She saw the same people that she had seen days before walking around, talking and doing their usual chores. She couldn't help but feel a little like a misfit or something.

She just stood in that same place, looking at the trees, the sun, the light and feeling the wind slightly blowing her brown hair. That place was even more gorgeous the last time she had seen it. _Just… beautiful. _And she didn't feel like it was that bad staying in there instead of wandering off to God knows where, never knowing what to find. Yeah, in a way it was selfish, but it was survival.

"Here." The Korean boy came to her, handing Brynn a peach, taking her by surprise and pulling her out of her thoughts. "Have one."

"Hmm, thanks...?" Brynn smiled. He nodded and walked away with a serious expression, but she stopped him in his tracks before he was too far away from her to hear her voice. "What's your name?"

He turned back and looked at her with a curious expression this time. "Glenn." He answered.

"I'm Brynn." She replied with a smile.

"I know." He stated, slightly smiling at her.

"So, hum…" Brynn started. "What is here that I can do to help? I mean… everyone's doin' something. I could help at… something."

"Well, if you wanna do something, you should ask Rick first." Glenn offered to her, spotting him, talking to Shane and Jimmy, holding a map. "He's over there with Shane and Jimmy."

"Okay…" Brynn replied, looking at Rick talking with Shane, the man who scared her somehow. The other guy, Jimmy… not so much. She had seen him once though, with the young blond girl, Maggie's sister, Beth. She figured he was her boyfriend. And she wasn't wrong. "Hmm, thanks."

"No problem." Glenn replied, walking away with the basket of peaches in hands, heading towards the RV to offer the others some peaches too.

She really didn't want to share the same place with Shane. She thought that maybe she could go there later… _No! Don't be such a girly girl!_ She snapped at herself. Shane was that man with danger written all over his face. She didn't know if the others saw it too, but she sure did. The man seemed to be so… cold. And she would try her best to stay away from him.

But she had to stop being such a pussy! If she wanted to help the people in the Farm, she had to start from somewhere, right? She had to talk to them, get to know them, and help them through this mess. After all, if she stayed in there, it was to be with the survivors, not to be or die alone in a ditch or something.

So, she clenched her fists, breathed deep and let her feet guide her to where Rick, Jimmy and Shane were. The man, Shane, as soon as he saw her coming over to them looked her up and down and slightly turned away like he just didn't check her out. Brynn completely ignored that, trying not to think much about it and focused in talking to Rick, the man she actually trusted in there.

"Morning." Brynn greeted to the three men. One of them was just for courtesy.

"Morning." The three of them said, not taking their eyes off the map that they were looking at.

"So, the creek goes south, pass that Farm house that Daryl found." Rick told Shane and looked at Brynn. "Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there and the flux brought it down the stream."

"So, what you think?" Shane asked, looking from Rick to Brynn. "She stepped this road here and just went north?"

"What's up that way?" Rick asked to Jimmy.

"A housing development." Jimmy answered, looking at the map. "They went in, maybe, 10 years ago."

"I think we should go there after gun practice." Rick suggested. "I'll hold down the fort here, but take backup… After what went down with Daryl… I don't want anyone goin' out alone. We stay in pairs."

"I'll take suggestions about a partner." Shane told Rick, and then looked at Brynn. She slightly turned to look at something else. She didn't like the eye contact thing, especially from that man.

"See how they do in the ring and take your pick." Rick responded. Then he turned to look at Brynn and tried to analyze her by the look in her face about what she thought of that idea or if she wanted to take a part of that. "Yer comin' with us to the gun practice?"

Before Brynn could answer, Shane called Glenn by 'peach man', and he came, slowly walking towards them to offer them some peaches. _This is why I don't like you, jackass._ Brynn thought, discreetly rolling her eyes. She noticed some eye contact between Glenn and another woman, Lori, who she found out to be Rick's wife just yesterday. There was something up in there, apparently. But she just ignored it. It wasn't her business. Glenn offered her another peach but she turned down as she had already eaten hers. "Thanks." She smiled. "Yeah, I might." Then she answered Rick, watching him taking a bite of a peach that Glenn had given to him. "I think I could use a li'l practice." Brynn said, remembering that Rick had given a gun to her and that she didn't even use it. She preferred knives, honestly. They worked better for her and she didn't really have to make a big noise that could get her killed.

"Alright." Rick nodded.

Glenn stopped there, staring at them, maybe waiting for them to tell him to go with them. But he got nothing. He only got some odd looks from Shane and Rick. "My binoculars." Shane reminded Glenn, who was still waiting. But stopped, as he noticed he wouldn't get anything from there.

"Yeah, oh, yeah." Glenn said, looking down, nervously. He placed the basket on the ground and picked up Shane's binoculars. Brynn actually felt sorry for Glenn. He seemed like a smart guy, who was being treated almost like a servant boy. "Okay, bye."

As soon as he saw that he wouldn't be much more than just a 'peach man' in there, he started to walk away quickly. Brynn rolled her eyes again when Shane slightly started to laugh. _Dick._

"We'd like to join you for gun training, today." Maggie's sister, Beth, and another woman, known as Patricia, walked over to them. Both were blond, the 'only' difference was that Patricia was _way_ older than Beth. Beth was probably 17 or 18.

"Hershel's been very clear," Rick told them immediately. "I can't involve any of you with what we do without his 'okay'."

"He doesn't like it, but he consented it." Beth stated.

"Otis was the only one who knew how to handle guns. Now that he's gone…" Patricia started, looking at Shane. He just looked the other way and slowly started to walk away from there, leaving only Brynn, Rick and Jimmy with the two women. "We need to learn how to protect ourselves. Her father saw the sense in that."

"No offense," Rick started. "But I'll ask Hershel myself."

Both women nodded and started to walk away, along with Jimmy.

"So," Brynn started, while watching them walking away. "When are we goin'?"

"Won't take much longer." Rick said. "Be ready in… maybe, 20 minutes."

"Okay." Brynn nodded and smiled, starting to walk away.

She had something to do before she went to gun practice with the others.

* * *

After she saw Andrea, the woman who had shot Daryl, exiting Daryl's tent, she decided that now was a good time to go and see how he was doing. As far as she knew, it hadn't been that bad and he was already in his tent. Good thing Andrea didn't kill him. Brynn didn't know exactly why yet, but she cared about that man. He was the one to find her almost dying and saved her. Maybe that was it. She cared about his life because he saved hers. Or not. Maybe it was more.

Either way, she pushed those thoughts away and entered Daryl's tent. He was looking at a book and didn't notice Brynn entering the tent. Not until she coughed to draw his attention.

"Morning." She spoke, trying not to smile. "How are you feelin'?"

"As bad as I look." He responded quickly and sharply. His voice was rough, but somehow didn't intimidate Brynn at all. "And you? How's that leg of yers?"

"Getting better." Brynn stated with a smile.

"Okay." He said, looking back at the book. Brynn was a weird girl. Only Carol and Andrea had gone to see how he was doing. The rest of them, in the group, didn't give a shit, and this girl, who he barely knew, was already asking how he was doing. That wasn't very comfortable for him. He wasn't used to it. "What d'ya want?" He suddenly asked, placing the book down on the ground.

Brynn raised an eyebrow. "What d'ya mean?" She questioned.

"What d'ya want from me?" He added.

"Well, I came to see how you were…"

"… how I was doin'." Daryl interrupted. "Ah know. And ya did. So what's keepin' ya here?"

"Well, I…" Brynn wanted to answer, but truth is… she didn't even know the answer to that. "Just wanted to know how you were. That's it."

_That's it?_ Brynn kicked herself mentally. _That's it, Brynn. You just wanted to know how he was, nothing else. Now… be gone._ She harshly thought to herself.

"I'll…" Brynn started, without knowing what exactly to say. "I'm goin' to gun practice, so… see ya later, maybe?"

"Yeah…" Daryl mumbled, watching her leaving his tent. He shook his head, taking his eyes off of that amazingly strange girl.

_Crap._ Brynn thought, heading towards her tent to get her stuff to go with the others.

* * *

Gun shots were the only audible thing in that place. Andrea, Patricia, Jimmy, Carl, Beth, Brynn and some others were the ones trying to hit the targets, which in this case were old bottles of God knows what. Brynn hadn't hit one yet, and that was starting to piss her off a lot. _This is why I prefer knives! I suck at this! _She thought, in a discouraging way. If the targets were still and she still didn't hit them, how the hell would she hit an undead thing moving to eat her? She wouldn't, she would stab it, because that was how she was taught to work. Since the world ended that her dad had taught her that knives worked much better than guns. They weren't noisy at all and it was better that way, in a world like this.

She rolled her eyes once more as she noticed it was another wasted bullet.

"Hey, Brynn," Rick started, walking towards her. "Calm down." He said, taking the gun off her hands. "Come on. Don't worry, you'll hit the target. Ya just have ta calm down and focus."

"What for?" Brynn complained, rolling her eyes. "It's not worth it. I work better with knives. This…" She said, pointing at the gun. "This is not my thing."

"Come on." Rick insisted with a smile. "Try again, will ya?"

"Alright." Brynn said, rolling her eyes and accepting the gun on her hands again.

He patted her shoulders and backed off to give her some space to concentrate on the target. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. She aimed the gun and opened her eyes again before firing it. The sound of a bottle breaking was heard seconds later. Brynn smiled and almost jumped with joy.

"See?" Rick said, smiling at her reaction. "You just have to concentrate."

"Thank you, Rick." She smiled and he nodded, heading towards the next person. She looked back at the broken bottle and aimed for another, shooting seconds later.

Broken glass chattered on the ground as the bullet hit it.

* * *

After a lot of practice, she got the hang of it, but it still wasn't very good. She accepted the fact that she didn't have a very good aiming. So, now, that they were back at the Farm, she decided that she could get to know the people in there a little better. As for Daryl, she decided that it was better if she didn't bother him anymore. He seemed to be annoyed, even though she didn't understand the reason to that. She was only worried, nothing else.

"So, how was it like in your other group?" Dale asked Brynn as they sat outside the RV.

"It was normal." Brynn stated, looking at the vast field. "It was peaceful. We lived in a warehouse that we found after we ran from Atlanta. Me, my family and some other survivors. It was peaceful until we were attacked."

"Walkers?" Dale questioned. They didn't know her story. Rick and Daryl didn't tell. She smiled at that.

_Walkers? Was he referring to the undead things, those freaks?_ Brynn had never heard someone call them 'walkers' but it sure was easier than calling them 'zombies'.

"No." Brynn shook her head. "Humans."

"What happened?" Dale asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…" Brynn started, ready to tell the short version. "A group of men invaded the warehouse. Killed the men and left women for last. I hid myself with my brother and my father, along with my mother, my sister and a friend. For minutes, we heard the gun shots, people screaming and running, and then it just stopped. Silence. We came out and we saw the bodies of the men. I exited the warehouse to see where they were and they were spreading fuel around the warehouse. I knew it. When I came out of my hiding place with my family, I could already smell it. But it was too late already. One of them saw me and warned the others." She stated in a deep and numb voice, as if she was reliving it all over again. "They burned the warehouse and then they came after me. My family survived, I know it. I went back there, yesterday, when I thought I would leave this place. Their bodies weren't there. The bodies that were there, they were from the men I saw dying by the other group's hands."

"So your family is alive, out there." Dale stated, absorbing the information. Brynn nodded, swallowing thickly. "I think you made the right choice."

Brynn's eyes widened. "Why?"

"They have each others." Dale explained. "You were alone. You would be alone if you didn't have us. If they're out there, they can look out for each others, but you don't. I think… I think you made the right choice in staying with us."

**A/N: Okay… what do you guys think of this Chapter? I don't have much to say about it, only that it took me AGES to write it, because I've been studying for tests. Anyway, if you liked it, REWIEW! It would be very appreciated. And if you noticed any writing mistake, I'm sorry, I'm a very clumsy person and I might've not noticed it. Bye, kisses!**


	6. Pretty Much Dead Already

I'm not listening to you

I am wandering right through existence

With no purpose and no drive

'Cause in the end we're all a lie

A lie

Two thousand years I've been awake

Waiting for the day to shake

Dear all of you who've wronged me

I am, I am a zombie

Again, again you want me to fall on my head

I am, I am, I am a zombie

How low, how low, how low will you push me?

To go, to go, to go before I lie, lie down dead

Blow the smoke right off the tubes

Kiss my gentle burning bruise

I'm lost in time

And to all the people left behind

You are walking dumb and blind

Blind

Two thousand years I've been awake

Waiting for the day to shake

Dear all of you who've wronged me

I am, I am a zombie

Again, again you want me to fall on my head

I am, I am, I am a zombie

How low, how low, how low will you push me?

To go, to go, to go before I lie, lie down dead

I'm dead

I'm dead

Dear all of you who've wronged me

I am, I am a zombie

Again, again you want me to fall on my head

I am, I am, I am a zombie

How low, how low, how low will you push me?

To go, to go, to go before a lie, lie down dead

* * *

Brynn woke up this morning earlier than yesterday. She couldn't sleep. It was like she had a bad feeling that something awful was going to happen. Maybe it was just a crazy idea, but when she has these feelings, usually, it doesn't end very well. She tried to keep that in the back of her mind, where she wouldn't worry about it anymore, and got up, leaving the tent to find Carol making scrambled eggs. And that was when her belly growled with hunger.

She approached the woman with a sleepy face and she saw Andrea a few feet away from them, sharpening a knife. Then she looked again and she saw Shane, eating eggs. She immediately looked away as his gaze met hers. "Morning." Brynn greeted everyone. Carol handed her a plate with eggs and she smiled. "Thank you." She sat next to Rick, but his head was far away from that place, so she decided to remain silent. His wife, who was also eating eggs, like their son, Carl, tried to pull him out of his thoughts, but it didn't seem like it worked. "Rick. Where did you go?" She asked, approaching her face to his. He looked her in the eyes severely and said: "I'm here." And that was it. Silence filled the space and the only audible thing were the forks touching the plates while they were eating.

Brynn started eating quietly, trying to acknowledge how lucky she had been to find these people. She was eating eggs! If she were alone, she wouldn't be eating anything. _Probably would've died of hunger. _She thought, somewhere between the dream and the reality. She stared at the others, and they were practically the same. Sleepy. And then… she saw Daryl. Sitting on a chair. He was feeling better. Brynn felt herself feeling a little happier to know that he was getting better after that almost-death of his.

But then she remembered that it was probably better to keep some distance from him, even though she didn't want it. He seemed quite annoyed with her just because she was worried about him. And that was another thing to put in the back of her mind. Almost like the other things she kept in there. All of them to ignore until it completely disappeared.

Glenn started to walk over to the middle of the group to be seen. He was wearing his usual hat, and like usual, he seemed a little nervous and awkward to speak about whatever he wanted. _Probably it ain't good if he's that nervous._ Brynn thought. "Hum, guys…" Glenn started, intensifying his voice so that the others could listen to him better. He had something to tell everyone, and Brynn wondered what that could be. "So…" He paused before he said what he really wanted. "The barn is full of walkers." He spoke loud and clearly.

Everyone stopped eating and looked at him, petrified in horror and shock.

* * *

"You cannot tell me you're alright with this." Shane spoke loudly after peeking to the inside of the barn. _Indeed, it was full of walkers. _Brynn thought, stupidly. She had only been there a few days so there was no way of knowing how those things ended up in there. More stupid than that was how someone could believe that those things in there were still human. Because if they were locked in there, there had to be a reason for it.

"No, I'm not! But we're guests here. This isn't our land!" Rick argued back. Brynn didn't like the idea of being in a place with walkers, but she didn't argue.

"Oh God, this is our lives, man!" Shane loudly spoke as he stepped back from the barn.

"Lower your voice!" Lori, Rick's wife, told Shane, but he didn't seem to give a shit about it.

"We can't just sweep this under the row!" Andrea said, agreeing with Shane.

"It ain't right." T-Dog also agreed. "Not remotely."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Brynn asked, placing her hands over her hips, expecting an answer from the others. They all looked back at Shane, waiting for him to say something.

"Either we gotta go in there, we gotta make things right, or we just gotta go. We've been talking about Fort Benning for a long time…" Shane exclaimed.

"We can't just go!" Rick yelled, stopping Shane from saying anything else.

"Why, Rick? Why?" Shane asked, almost in a teasing way.

"Because my daughter is still out there." Carol came into the talk. _Poor woman still had her daughter Sophia missing…_ Brynn thought sadly. Brynn could identify herself with Carol a little bit. Both women had someone missing and there was no way of knowing if they were still alive. At least there was no way of Brynn knowing if her family was still alive…

"Okay… I think it's time that we all just start to consider the other possibility." Shane stated while Brynn felt her blood boiling up with anger. _That bastard was telling the others to give up!?_ Brynn rolled her eyes and tried not to snap at him, because this wasn't her business.

"We're not leaving Sophia behind!" Rick yelled back at Shane. It was very clear that his friend's actions were starting to really piss Rick off.

"We're close to finding this girl, I just found her damn doll two days ago!" Daryl intervened. Brynn felt her body shiver when she noticed that Daryl was right next to her.

"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did! You found _a_ doll!" Shane yelled even louder than before. _Someone shoot this motherfucker, for Christ sakes…_ Brynn thought, angrily.

"You don't know what the hell you're talkin' about!" Daryl snapped.

"I'm just sayin' what needs to be said!" Shane yelled again. "Now, ya get a good lead in the first 48 hours…! Lemme tell ya something else, man! If she was alive out there and saw ya comin' with that Brynn girl, all meted out with yer butt knife, the ears around yer neck, she would run in the other direction!"

"Shut up!" Rick yelled, but that was useless.

That was it. Shane pressed Daryl's nerve and that was it. They were on each other seconds later, trying to kick each other's asses. Brynn tried to break them apart, but she was pushed away by Shane.

"Stop it!" Rick yelled again, also trying to break those two apart. "Just stop it!"

"I'll beat your ass, man!" Shane said.

"Back off!"Rick took control of the situation and finally broke Daryl and Shane apart, pushing Shane backwards.

"Keep your hands off me." Shane told Lori, who decided to put herself between Rick and Shane. He walked away, already boiling up in anger.

"Just lemme talk to Hershel!" Rick begged. "Lemme figure it out."

"WHAT DO YOU GOT TO FIGURE OUT?" Shane yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Enough!" Lori yelled, putting herself between Rick and Shane, again.

"If we're gonna stay here, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land!" Rick said, being the voice of the reason, as always.

"Hershel sees those things in there as people." Dale intervened, trying to talk some reason to the two men. They stopped for a second to listen to him. "Sick people." He clarified. "His wife, his stepson."

"You knew?!" Rick questioned, in a wrathful way.

"Yesterday, I talked to Hershel." Dale clarified.

"And you waited the night?" Shane questioned with his eyes wide open, already fuming in rage. I _swear to God, if this man doesn't calm the fuck down I'm gonna shoot him in the ass!_ Brynn imagined the scene, stupidly. _That would be a sight to see._

"I thought we could survive one more night! We did." Dale responded. "I was waiting until this morning to say something, but Glenn wanted to be the one."

"Man, he's crazy, if Hershel thinks those things are alive in there!" Shane raised his voice once again. Brynn was so sick and tired of that time bomb man. He could snap at anytime and kill everyone.

"Shane, ENOUGH!" Rick yelled once more, losing his grip.

With all the noise, those things started to growl and pushing the barn doors, trying to get out. _Oh my God…_ Brynn thought, taking a few steps back, feeling the fear running through her spine like it never did before. _This needs to stop. Immediately._

* * *

"Rick!" Brynn yelled as she noticed he was exiting the house. He had already talked to Hershel and Rick didn't seem satisfied with his answer. Brynn was feeling especially nervous today, and she was right. Something bad was about to happen, and yeah, it sure wasn't good. She just prayed that it would all work out for the best, or at least the slightest bit, since the world was already shitty as it was, it didn't need more things to ruin it. "Rick. What did he say?" She asked, reaching him.

"We're negotiating." Rick stated, trying to convince Brynn and maybe himself of that.

"Rick." Brynn insisted, rolling her eyes, detecting the lie. "I want the truth. What did he say?"

Rick sighed as he noticed he couldn't fool Brynn that easily. "He wants us gone by the end of the week." He whispered, looking around to see if the rest of his people were around. Well, he found none. He only saw Shane in the distance, leaning against the tractor. "He wants us to leave the Farm."

"What?" Brynn asked with her eyes wide open. "I'm sorry, what?" She repeated. Now that she had found the perfect place to stay for a while, she had to leave it to go back to the hard life of a post-apocalyptic world? Hell no! There had to be something that they could do. That was the perfect place to be, so safe and quiet. "There has to be something we can do. He needs to understand how hard it is out there! What we've been through when it all went down…" She trailed off, remembering the first day of Infection. She was lucky to find the warehouse, but she also went through a lot in the way to that. "The panic."

"He saw the news when it all started, like we all did, but here, he's disconnected from the outside world." Rick explained. "He thinks those things in the barn are sick people. He believes that they're sick and that there might be a cure."

"But they're not. They're not sick. It's irreversible." Brynn stated, with a thoughtful look. "What do we do?"

"Wait." Rick told her. "Just wait. Lemme handle this."

Brynn nodded, but she still wasn't very convinced.

"Do you trust me?" Rick asked, looking her right in the eyes. Brynn noticed his eyes were really blue.

"I do." Brynn responded. "I'm just… I'm scared."

* * *

Brynn didn't know what to do. She was so freaking nervous, especially because of the time bomb man. He had been watching the barn the whole day, always around it, looking for flaws from where the walkers could get out. He was growing impatient, _that_ she could clearly see. Rick was nervous too, just like the rest of the group. Some of the others, like Lori and Carl, had continued to do their normal chores, trying to stay away from the barn. Others, like Rick and Andrea, were in that moment planning another trip to look for the missing girl, Sophia. Brynn decided to join Rick and Andrea, since she wasn't being useful doing anything else.

"Alright." Brynn stated. "So, how do we do this? Is it just us three?"

"Yeah, I think so." Andrea stated. "Glenn's on watch, Shane's watching the barn. Don't know where T-Dog or Dale are, so…" She trailed off as she noticed Brynn had gotten the message.

"It's just us." Brynn nodded.

"Alright." Rick nodded as well, unfolding the map and placing it over the car. "We're going to look for her this way." He stated, pointing at a very precise spot in the map. "We've been on North since Sophia disappeared and we found nothing. The only lead we got was the doll. We're going south this time. The herd that passed by in that day was going north, so… I'm guessing she went south."

"Sounds like a plan." Andrea stated, staring at the map.

"Also show she could be movin' this way south." Rick continued, explaining the way to Brynn and Andrea, pointing at the very precise spot in the map. "If Sophia kept in that direction, she might've gotten out of the forest and into the farmland. So we take the 74 to IV road. Then push down south on foot through the forest until we hit Christopher. Go east a couple of miles and then we go back." Brynn and Andrea nodded at the same time, assimilating everything.

"Alright." Brynn nodded. "Sounds like a plan to stick with. I'm going to get my stuff and we're off…"

"Yeah." Andrea agreed. "Me too."

"Rick." Hershel called, appearing behind them.

"Hershel." Rick breathed, turning around to look at the old man. "We just have our guns out because we're gonna go look for Sophia."

"Before you do that, I could use your help with something." Hershel said.

"Count me in." Andrea added. Then she looked at Brynn and said: "Count us in."

"Thank you, but I just need Rick." Hershel quietly responded.

"I'll be down at the barn keeping watch until you're ready." Andrea told Rick, starting to walk away without waiting a second.

Brynn watched Rick and Hershel walking away and then she turned around to go to the RV to do the watch with Glenn, since he seemed a little lonely up there. He was wearing Dale's hat, though she preferred to see him with his normal cap. The sun was burning today and it was killing her slowly. She looked around and she saw no one. Everyone was somewhere else.

"Hey, there." Brynn spoke to Glenn, staring up at him. "Mind if I join you?"

"Sure." Glenn replied. "Come on up."

Brynn smiled and climbed the ladder, sitting next to Glenn seconds later. For a few minutes, they just stared at the vast land. Until Brynn finally broke the silence. "Ya know… I woke up this morning feeling like something bad was goin' to happen. Guess I wasn't wrong after all." Her voice spoke in a numb way as she stared at the blue sky. She missed the rain. "You did well in telling what was happening in the barn, though."

"I did?" Glenn asked, unsure.

"Yeah." Brynn nodded. "Of course you did. Those things are dangerous. They aren't something to toy with. You were protecting your group."

"Yeah, well… now Maggie's mad at me." Glenn muttered. Brynn heard it though and smiled.

"She'll understand." Brynn retorted, looking at him with a confident glance. "You were trying to protect her and your people. She should understand that. You should tell her that." Brynn stated, discreetly pointing at her, who was arriving the House with a basket of something. "Go."

Glenn looked from Maggie to Brynn, and then from Brynn to Maggie, doing it again. "Okay." Glenn said, placing down the gun and getting up from the chair. "Ya know… might seem like it ain't, but you're becoming a part of the group, slowly." He said. She smiled at that and nodded. "Hey, Maggie!"

Glenn yelled her name again and went down the ladder, starting to run to her, since she wasn't stopping. Brynn watched them for a while, fighting and arguing, until they finally stopped and she kissed him. Brynn smiled and actually felt happy for those two. Then she looked back at the vast camp, starting to really do the watch.

* * *

An hour later, or so, she saw Daryl and Carol coming back together. _Are those two…? _Brynn asked herself, not even sure how to feel about it._ Nah… maybe they were looking for Sophia. Yeah, probably that was it… _She placed the gun down and went down the ladder, starting to walk over to the people sitting on the porch. "Have you seen Rick?" Brynn asked Glenn and Maggie, but both didn't know where Rick was. _Something is up!_ Brynn could already tell this by the way Shane was walking on the distance. She could see some hurry and rage in his face, like he was about to do something really stupid. She looked at the others as she sat on the porch with them, and they all started making questions.

"Do you know what's goin' on?" T-Dog asked Glenn as he arrived with Andrea.

"Where is everyone?" Andrea asked, also searching for the truth.

"Ya haven't seen Rick?" Glenn tried.

"He went off with Hershel." Andrea explained. "We were supposed to leave a couple of hours ago."

"There you are!" Daryl said as he and Carol reached the porch. "What the hell?"

"Rick told us he was goin' out." Carol said.

"Damn it!" Daryl snapped. "Isn't anybody takin' this seriously? We got us a damn trail!" Daryl sneered, but he only got silence. "Ah… here we go." He reported as Shane also started to reach the porch. _That stupid face of his…_ Brynn just wanted to slap the bastard. It was like everything he said or did, pissed her off. Even when he was silent or just breathing, Brynn wanted to strangle Shane so badly. "What's all this?" Daryl asked, pointing at the bag of guns that Shane had.

"You with me, man?" Shane questioned Daryl, immediately handing him a gun.

"Yeah." Daryl answered, figuring why he had all those guns. They were going to put down the walkers in the Barn.

_Oh man… this means trouble._ Brynn thought nervously. "Time to grow up." Shane started. "You already got yours?"

"Yeah, where is Dale?" Andrea answered and asked.

"He's on his way." Shane lied.

"Thought we couldn't carry them." T-Dog stated with a confused glance as he took his gun too.

"We can and we have to." Shane replied quickly. "Now look. It was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain't." Shane spoke as he walked over to Glenn. "How about you, man? You goin' protect yours?" Glenn looked reluctantly from the gun to Maggie, but took it. "That's it." He told Glenn. Then, he looked at Maggie. "Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop?" Maggie snapped, already sick and tired of Shane's actions. "If you do this, you hand out this guns, my dad will make you leave tonight!"

"We have to stay, Shane!" Carl interrupted the conversation, trying to reason with Shane.

"What is this?" Lori demanded to know what was happening, though she already had some thoughts about the situation.

"We ain't goin' anywhere, okay?" Shane reassured Carl. "Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand, okay? Well, he's gonna have to. Now, we need to find Sophia, am I right?" Shane asked, kneeling down in front of Carl. "I want you to take this." He spoke. "You take it, Carl. You keep your mother safe, you do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take this gun and do it."

Lori put herself between Carl and Shane. "Rick said no guns!" She retorted. "This is not your call. This is not your decision to make." She spat on him.

"Oh no." Brynn breathed, starting to notice something in the distance. T-Dog looked at her and wondered what it was. That was when he saw it too.

"OH SHIT!" T-Dog exclaimed.

Brynn didn't know how to feel about what she was seeing. Rick, Hershel and Jimmy were bringing three walkers on poles, taking them towards the Barn. Brynn felt herself getting sick. Why were they bringing those things? _This ain't good. This ain't going to end well._ Her inner voice was telling her to back off, but all she did was run with the others towards them to see what was going to happen. Shane just got more pissed as every step he took towards Rick. "What is that…?" He asked himself, accelerating his paces. "What is that!?"

"What the hell you doing?" Shane yelled at Rick as he reached them. Then he stopped at the scene, astonished with the sight.

"Shane, just back off!" Rick told him, but it was useless.

"Why do you people have guns?!" Hershel demanded to know, watching the group carrying the guns that Shane had given to them.

"Are you kidding me?" Shane exclaimed with rage, pointing at the walkers. "You see!? You see what they're holding on to?"

"I see 'who' I'm holding on to!" Hershel protested, trying to make his point valid.

"No, man, you don't!" Shane shouted.

"Shane, just let us do this, then we can talk!" Rick pleaded, trying to make Shane back off.

"What you wanna talk about, Rick!? These things ain't sick, they're not people! They're dead! Ain't gotta feel nothin' more about them cause all they do, they kill! These things right here! They're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They gonna kill all of us…"

"Shane, shut up!" Rick yelled, stopping Shane from saying anything else.

"Hey, Hershel, man, lemme ask ya something." Shane bellowed, pacing in front of the walker that Hershel was holding with the pole. "A living, breathing person, do they walk away from this?" He asked, shooting the walker 3 times.

"Stop!" Rick barked, losing his grip.

"3 rounds in the chest, if someone was alive, think they could just take that? Why is it still coming!?" He roared, shooting the lady walker 3 more times. "That's its heart! Its lungs! Why is it still coming?" And again, another 3 shoots. But it was still moving, still trying to set itself free. Because it was dead, and alive at the same time. That thing was walking between the two terms.

"Shane, enough!" Rick yelled, furiously.

"Yeah, you're right, man! That is enough." Shane raised his gun again, and this time, he aimed for the head, shooting it. It fell dead seconds later, and everyone looked shocked with Shane's action, including Brynn. Actually, Brynn felt more like she could shoot him in the face too, but that might've been just her. Or maybe the others too. "Enough! Risking our lives for a li'l girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us! Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now, if y'all wanna live, if ya wanna survive, ya gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now!" And then, like a mad person, he ran towards the barn and grabbed the pickaxe, smashing the lock of the doors.

"Hershel! Hershel, take the pole! Hershel, listen to me, man, take the pole! Hershel! Take it!" Rick exclaimed, starting to exasperate. Shane just kept hammering the door, while everyone watched the scene in horror. "No, Shane! No! Don't do this, brother!" Rick yelled, trying to reason with Shane, but it was useless, he wasn't goin' to stop.

"Don't do it!" Glenn yelled, holding onto Maggie for his dear life.

"Rick!" Lori also yelled, holding Carl with all the strength she had.

"Please!" Rick tried.

It was too late. The lock was off, and Shane was already aiming for the door, waiting for those things to start coming out.

And they did. The first one was a farmer, or at least it appeared to be one, and it went straight for Shane. He immediately shot it in the head, and the other walkers also started to come out. Brynn backed off in horror as she watched T-Dog, Shane, Daryl, Andrea and Glenn shooting the walkers. Rick told Lori and Carl to 'Stay back' and Brynn just kneeled next to Maggie and Hershel, trying to comfort the man, who seemed to be hopeless and in shock with the scene in front of his eyes.

Gun fires stopped as the walkers stopped too. It seemed to be over.

Except that it wasn't.

Brynn heard another growl, and seconds later, a little girl slowly came out. She was all dirty and apparently, she was bitten in the neck. That was how she died and became one of those things. But she wasn't just a little girl. Everyone backed off as they noticed who it was. For seconds, her desperate growls were the only audible thing while everyone watched her coming out, in shock. Behind Brynn, she could hear Carl starting to cry.

"SOPHIA!" Carol screamed, starting to sob and running over to the girl. Daryl stopped her in her tracks and both fell on the hard ground. She was crying hopelessly while watching her little girl walking towards Rick. "No! Sophia…! Sophia! Sophia."

Brynn felt some tears rolling down her cheeks. For the first time in a while, she was crying. She didn't know the girl, but she knew how much her mother was suffering. And now… she was seeing her in there, walking, but already dead. Everyone was shocked and some of them were crying. Even Shane seemed shocked and sad with the sight of the girl.

And then… Rick. Rick was shocked. But he was the only one strong enough to do what was needed to do.

He raised his gun, and pulled the trigger.

Her body fell, lifeless, seconds later.

**A/N: Hello there! So, what did you guys think of this Chapter? Boring…? Ehh. Well… I would LOVE to hear your opinions. I've been, kinda losing hope about this story of mine. You see… I'm writing it, but you guys don't seem to enjoy it. Or at least, just… just say something about it. A writer ain't nothing without her readers. So please, REVIEW and tell me if I should carry on with this story or not… Bye! **


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